Painting apparatus



1,622,224 March 22 1927- H R GALE PAINTING APPARATUS Filed Nov. 2. 1925 I 7 21am 7 4 W 1 Patented Mar. 22, 1927.

UNI E o STATES,

- HENRY r. GALE, or cmcaeo; rumors.

a 1,622,224 PATENT OFFICE...

PAINTING APPARATUS.

container, the paint being forced through with much the same results.

the hose by means of air pressure. In this type slugs of paint form in the hose when it is. not in use and then when it is again used these slugs are forced through the hose, provided sufficient pressureis present.- If the hose has been completely clogged with slugs, as sometimes happens, to such an extent that it cannot be cleared by the ordinary pressure, then obviously something is bound to break and with disastrous results. In any case the gun is being moved over a surface and insufiicient pressure is present to supply the proper amount of paint. This 7 means that a comparatively bare spot is left on the surface which is difficult to refinish.

In another type of apparatus, it has been common to, mount the paint gun upon a container provided with valves for regulating the flow of paint to the gun. These valves clog up with slugs in the same manner as the hose in the other type referred to and The can is usually blown off and before that occurs the quality of work is rendered poor because of the diminishing of the supply of paint. Of course, if-the slugs are blown out, they become embedded in the finish on the surface to which the paint is being applied and detract from the appearance of the finished job as is well known.

Special containers have been provided with both of the above types of apparatus and because of their special and expensive construction, it has been customary to make an attempt to clean out a can when it is desired to change from one color of paint to another. This is effected by removing the entire cover which is clamped to the container and carries the valves and gauges commonly supplied with this equipment. -1n removing the cover either to clean the can or to refill the same paint is'lost by leakage and spilling and moreover the valves in the top of the can become clogged with paint when the cans are shaken 9r tipped,

' Application filed November 2, 1925. Serial No. 66,137.

to which actions they are continuously exposed.

It is therefore the primary object of my invention to provide an apparatus in which clogging due to. the formation of slugs shall be entirely avoided. This I achieve by mounting the paint un directly upon the can of paint and providing a line ofair hose to conduct air under a reduced pressure directly to the can, this pressure being controlled by a valve remote from the gun. In th1s manner it is not necessary for the paint to pass through any-valves or hose, the paint being forced directly from the can to the gun. Very little, if any, paint can collect in the ordinary type of gun and moreover this instrument can be readily cleaned.

Another object of my invention is to provide a container of improved and inexpensive construction having means for attaching a. spraying device or gun thereto and also having means for filling the same without removal of the gun. in present types of containers wherein the gun is mounted directly on a container, the gun is secured to the cover and in order to refill the container the entire cover is removed. Aside from the danger of spilling the paint which this construction involves the paint from the gun drips back through the connections and this paint is bound to be spilled on the floor or other support upon which the cover is placed. This objection is removed by my construction.

A further object of my invention is to provide a device which shall reduce the amount of air necessary to be usedat the nozzle of the gun whereby excessive drying of the paint is avoided. In ordinary work and in the other types of apparatus referred to the amount of air supplied at the nozzle of a paint gun is so great as to drythe paint before it strikes the surface on which it is being sprayed. This prevents the proper ama gamation of the paint and causes streakiness. and loss of color. These objections are overcome by my apparatus.

Further objects of my invention will become apparent during the reading of the following description in connection with the accompanying drawing wherein Fig. 1 is an elevation showing a general view of my improved apparatus.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section through my? improved container and ig. 3 s a view partly'in elevation and partly in section and showing the construc-' al 1 designates any suitable support upon which is mounted an air filter 2 to which air is supplied from any suitable source by means of the pipe 3. Air leaves the filter at 4 and passes through the reduction valve 5 to the T-connection 6 and thence to the pipe 7. Suitable gauges 8 and 9 are provided to indicate the pressure in the various pipes, as is well known in the art. The construction thus far described is old in the art and it is common to provide a suitable valve in the pipe 7 and to attach air hose thereto for use with one of the types of apparatus which I have referred to above.

I preferably extend the pipe 7, omitting the valve in its usual location and by means of the elbow 10 join the pipe 7 to another pipe 11 containing a suitable cut-off valve l2. The end of the pipe 11 is connected to a hose 13, for a purpose which will presently appear.-

The third leg of the T-connection 6 is con nected to a pipe 14 containing a reducing valve 15, gauge 16 and cut-off valve 17 and connected at its end to a hose 18 for apurpose which will presently appear.

Referring now particularly to Fig. 2; I have shown therein a container 19 provided with a threaded top edge 20 whereby a cover 21 may be secured to the container. The cover is provided with an opening 22 which is preferably located near the center of the can or container and which may have the upwardly extending flange 23 surrounding the same and terminating in the downward ly extending flange 24 at the top of the flange 23. The opening is adapted to be closed by means of a cap 25, which is provided with an annular recess 26 in which is received a suitable packing 27 to contact with the top of the flange 23. The cap may be secured to the cover by any suitable clamping means exemplified by a strap 28 adapted to span the cap and to have its ends received beneath the flange 24 and secured in position by the screw 29. The cap is provided with an upwardly extending boss 30 through which extends a bore 31 connecting with a nipple 32 provided with suitable means to secure thereon one end of thehose 18.

The cover 21 is further apertured at 33 to receive an outlet pipe 34 which extends into the container and nearly to the bottom there of, the lower end being beveled, as shown at 35, to avoid the possibility of the pipe becoming clogged. The pipe may be secured in the cover in any suitable manner as by soldering .to an upwardly extending flange 36 on the cover'.. The pipe extends above the cover, as plainly shown, and at its upper end is threaded to receive a union 37 by means of which it can be secured to a threaded stem 38 provided on a gun 39, a portion of which is shown. in Fig. 3 and which is shown in Fig. 1 as secured in place upon the container.

The gun itself is of a type well known and forms no part of my invention. In Fig. 3 I have shown an enlarged view of a portion of this gun, the nozzle being shown in section so as to illustrate the construction thereof. Disposed within the nozzle 40 of the gun is a nozzle head 41 surrounding the tip 42. laint'is drawn through the tip 42 by means of air passing through the aperture 43 in the bead and within which the tip is received. Ports 44 are provided in the head and disposed upon opposite sides of the tip 42 whereby when the paint leaves the tip, which it does in the form of a come, the air from the ports 44 will impinge upon opposite sides thereof and flatten the cone out so that the paint will strike the surface to which it is to be applied in a wide strip, that is in the approximate shape in which abrush would apply the same.

The pressure of the air in the filter is usually about eighty pounds per square inch. This pressure is reduced by the reduction valve 5 to about seventy pounds per square inch and this is the pressure normally used to draw paint from the tip 42 and is also the pressure of the air passing through the ports 44 and impinging on the sides of the paint cone. The result is that the paint is dried too much by the air from the ports 44. This air not only completely atomizes the paint, which is desirable in itself, but it also dries it to such an extent that when it reaches the surface, which is normally about six inches from the nozzle, it is so dry that it will not properly amalgamate and will not have the necessary moisture to properly cling to the surface. It will also have lost its color to a large extent. The result is a job which is streaky and not uniform in color.

According to my invention I do not employ the pressure of air to suck the paint through the tip 42, but rely upon the pressure of air in the hose 18 and container 19. Because of the fact that this container is disposed closely adjacent to the gun it is possible to use a much lower pressure than where it is necessary to either force or suck the paint through a long line of hose. Therefore, I employ the reducing valve 15 to reduce the pressure to a very low point, varying from one quarter of a pound to three pounds per square inch. The result is that, while the pressure of air coming from the ports 44 is sufiicient to flatten out the cone of paint. nevertheless it is not enough to dry the paint to an extent sufficient to cause the objections noted above.

From the above it will be apparent that I neeaaae have devised a painting apparatus of great ly improved character which will avoid the disadvantages due to the passage-of paint through lon lines of hose or through valves.

be readily filled Without the necessity of removing the entire cover, thereby minimizing the danger of spilling paint due to either carelessness or leaking and which shall at the same time provide ready means for attachment of the paint gun and air line thereto. It is, of course, obvious that when the. container is not in use in the apparatus suitable stoppers may be provided for the opening 22 and for the pipe 34. By my apparatus it will be evident that I have provided means making possible the reduction of the amount of air employed at the nozzles of a paint gun, which will result in an improved character of work as fully set forth above.

I am aware that changes in the form, construction and arrangement or parts may be made Without departing frem the spirit and without sacrificing the advantages of theinvention and I consider myself entitled to make all'such changes as fairly fall within the scope of the following claims.-

I claim:

1. In a painting apparatus, the combination of a pressure supply, a paint container, an atomizing gun, a valveless fluid outlet ipe rigid with the gun, said gun and pipe heing mounted in the cover of the container with the gun closely adjacent and directly upon the cover and the pipe extending down within the container close to the bottom thereof, a pressure conduit from the supply.

to the container, an independent pressure conduit from the supply to the gun, and inevident that I have devised a dependent means remote from the container and the gun for maintaining a greater degree of pressure in the gun than in the con tamer.

2. ltn a painting apparatus, the combination of a pressure supply, a paint container, an 'atoinizing gun, an outlet from the contamer to the gun, a pressure conduit from the supply to the gun, said container havmg a cover and said cover having a filling opening therein, a cap, means for detachably securing said cap to said cover to close said filling opening, said cap having a bore therein and a nipple connected with-said bore, said gun being mounted upon said cover, a pressure conduit connected to the supply and to said nipple to admit pressure to the container, and independent means for maintaining the desired pressures in the container and gun.

3. In a painting apparatus the combination of a pressure supply, a paint container, a cover for said container having a filling opening therein, an atomizin gun, an outlet pipe rigid with the gun, sai gun and pipe being mounted in the cover of the container with the gun closely adjacent the cover and the pipe extending down within the container close to the bottom thereof, a pressure conduit from the supply to the gun, a cap for the filling opening in the cover and provided with a bore and a nipple connected with said bore, an independent pressure conduit from the supply to the nipple to admit pressure to the container, and independent means remote from the container and thegun for maintaining a greater degree of pressure in the gun than in the container.

HENRY P. GALE. 

